Light Reading Podcasts

Omdia Principal Analyst Pablo Tomasi returns to the podcast with an update on the industry's progress in deploying private 5G networks. He explains why there's a land grab for logos and how the rush to identify partners in this space could present new challenges in the future."You need to ensure your long-term view and the long-term view of your partners is well aligned," Tomasi says. "At the moment, everyone wants an ecosystem and as many partners as they can get, and that could present a bit of a challenge going forward."In addition, Tomasi shares where service providers and enterprises are finding success in the private network market, and why Verizon chose to partner with private-wireless startup Celona as part of its private network strategy.Here are just a few things covered in this podcast episode:Changes to the competitive landscape for private 5G networks (01:25)Identifying experts and partners in a crowded market (03:21)Setting realistic expectations for private networks (08:15)Service provider case studies for success in the market (11:10)Most successful verticals deploying private networks so far (14:23)Replicating private network deployments (18:30)Related stories and links:MWC 2022 wrap-up: Exploring key developments and implicationsOmdia's Pablo Tomasi: Why 2022 won't be the year of 5G private networksCSPs got it all to prove with private 5G networks – OmdiaSign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Mike Dano joins the podcast to discuss recent pricing changes by T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. Dano explains why some service providers are increasing the price of mobile and fixed wireless services while others are announcing new deals for consumers, and what this means for the broader industry.Related posts:T-Mobile ports 'uncarrier' playbook to FWAAT&T's price increase could send customers to VerizonSign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features John Putnam, director of UniCity – the smart city division at Cincinnati Bell, now known as Altafiber. We discuss UniCity's 3,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots and how the division engages partners on providing connectivity and digital training services across its service areas in Northern Kentucky, and Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Jeff Baumgartner joins the podcast with a recap of the NAB show in Las Vegas. During the show, Jeff says there were discussions around the ATSC 3.0 standard for broadcast TV, latency concerns for live TV and streaming services, and he was able to attend an 8K video demo.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yellowstone Fiber, a nonprofit open access fiber network, broke ground in March to deliver fiber throughout the city of Bozeman, Montana. Formerly known as Bozeman Fiber, Yellowstone Fiber is now operating in partnership with Utopia Fiber, an open access network based in Utah. Greg Metzger, CEO of Yellowstone Fiber, and Kim McKinley, CMO and deputy director of Utopia Fiber, join the podcast to discuss their partnership in Bozeman, and where the open access model works best in the US.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Iain Morris joins the podcast to discuss Elon Musk's offer to buy Twitter for $43 billion. Morris explains Musk's potential motives behind purchasing Twitter, what it might look like if he goes through with taking ownership of the social media outlet, and what impact that could have on Twitter's future revenues and profits.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we hear from Sam Pratt, CEO of Render Networks, a provider of geospatial network construction technology. Founded in Australia, Render is primarily focused on building networks in the US and is currently active across 12 states. We discuss Render's recent announcement that its network construction technology has helped connect over 1 million premises to fiber – and what that milestone says about the industry's evolution on using digital tools in the field. We also get into funding initiatives and how the US federal effort to close the digital divide differs from Australia's.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Mike Dano joins the podcast to discuss his trip to the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) show, why T-Mobile had a presence at a show typically attended by Tier 2 operators and why smaller carriers are investing in 5G. He also explains what these smaller service providers have planned for funding from the federal government's infrastructure deal, and why they're showing a growing interest in utilizing public clouds.Related posts:Small US carriers march toward 5GTelecom's lobbying associations shift attention to the statesFraud could drag down Biden's broadband ambitions – reportSign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Basil Alwan, CEO of Tarana Wireless, joins the podcast to discuss Tarana's approach to fixed wireless access (FWA) and why its technology is unique. Alwan, a startup veteran who most recently ran Nokia's IP/Optical business, also weighs in on how Tarana's gear can help lessen the digital divide and why some of the company's customers are having WTF moments about FWA.In our conversation, we cover how and why Alwan became CEO at Tarana, a company that has been around since 2009, but only really started turning heads in the broader telecom market about a year ago. Alwan discusses how Tarana transitioned from handling small cell backhaul to building a novel broadband solution for service providers of all sizes, Tarana's G1 platform.He goes on to talk about the costs that service providers should consider when deploying traditional fixed wireless and line-of-sight cellular technologies. Finally, he reveals how Tarana Wireless is working with service providers and other channel partners and how the company's latest funding round has changed things.In March, Tarana announced that it had closed a $170 million round at a $1 billion valuation and was on track to "deliver over $100 million of revenue in 2022, from a customer base that has exploded to more than 120 service providers."Here's how the conversation unfolded:How Basil Alwan became CEO of Tarana Wireless (01:26)Tarana Wireless's work in the small cell market (04:55)Market opportunities for FWA and line-of-sight technologies (07:06)Key regions where FWA can lessen the digital divide and the cost to service providers for homes passed (09:18)Digging into Tarana's latest funding round and growth prospects (12:03)How Tarana is going to market and how service providers are stepping up (13:24)A real WTF moment for one of Tarana's customers (21:33)What changes when your company becomes a unicorn? (29:25)Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Juniper Networks CEO Rami Rahim catches up with Light Reading just a couple of months following Juniper's acquisition of WiteSand, a pioneer of cloud-native, zero-trust network access control solutions. In the podcast, we discuss what that string of buzzwords means and why the acquisition fits in nicely with Mist Systems, which brought a wireless LAN to Juniper, along with the ability to use AI to make network operations easier.Here are a few things covered in this podcast episode:Juniper's acquisition strategy and how it's paying off (01:44)What Juniper looks for in an acquisition target (07:17)Juniper's focus on enterprise customers (11:29)Why Juniper loves the O-RAN opportunity (15:46)Can Juniper make the right bets while so much is changing in the network? (20:26)Moving service providers to "experience first" networking (23:46)Data is precious but coffee is better (26:05)Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.